However, Bennett ruled out a return for the series, claiming that BBC cuts meant the drama wasn't financially viable. Factual and comedy content was "ring-fenced" from cuts by the channel, but the controller said that drama would be affected by budget reductions.

Speaking specifically about The Fades, Bennett said that the show "didn't engage with young adults", claiming that its audience was "much older" than the 16-32 age bracket that the channel aims to entertain.

The Fades aired for one series in 2011 and starred Iain de Caestecker, Joe Dempsie, Natalie Dormer and Tom Ellis.

Dempsie spoke to Digital Spy about the axe earlier this year, commenting: "I thought a programme like that really was a chance for a channel like BBC Three to move away from My Boob Job and Me [-type shows] and a lot of the stuff that you usually identify with them.

"I don't know if maybe that was part of the problem - if people don't know that good drama lurks on BBC Three, they're not going to find out about it."